There's casual gamer, and hardcore gamer, and while a lot of people think 'casual' means you play Mario, and 'hardcore' means you want EXTREME SPAESH MARINES, it's not true. Casual is someone who doesn't know a thing about gaming but plays it in their spare time, like a doctor needs stress relief and reflex training. Hardcore is someone who checks up online, reads the magazines, generally takes a proactive interest in gaming and has a good idea of what they want and what's coming out.

Casual gaming is not the end of the world as most 'Hardcore' players think... it's just annoying.

You're right, Sabby... though I personally hate the label hardcore. It makes us sound unnecessarily tough. Like there's an element of real danger to it. I like die-hard better, but that's neither here nor there. I know a lot of "hardcore" gamers that couldn't beat Super Mario Galaxy if there life depended on it. Some of those levels get hard in the later game. I personally can't stand Halo as a game. Saying your "hardcore" at it might as well give you "hardcore" status with any other generic first-person shooter.

I'll go 'hardcore' on a single game at a time, like trying to get all the neat toys (even if I never use them) through sidequests and extreme leveling. I'm starting to explain more of the 'how to play' to the little one, instead of focusing on just telling the story.

Hm... If I was to describe myself as a gamer type... I'd say 'Gamer Scholar' for the fact that I just pile up helpful knowledge real quick and on the fly. Apparently in Halo: Reach, the hunters block their faces with shields while their gun charges, and they drop the shield only when they're about to fire. My brother didn't notice that you can in fact lose the hunter that is trying to shoot you via hiding behind something, or jumping over them once I tried it out a couple of times.

My brother would be a Game Soldier, since if he can't play FPS he won't play the game itself, some sports aside. Nonetheless, he's a pretty good gamer all-around when I drag him into one, though he hates playing the mario games, ever since Super Mario Sunshine, where the difficulty curve is as hard hitting and sudden as Monster Hunter: G2 Unite with the effing Kezu.